Cole young’s demise foretold: acid pools and shao kahn loom large in ‘mortal kombat 2’

Lewis Tan’s portrayal of Cole Young ignited controversy upon the release of ‘Mortal Kombat’ in 2021, and the new trailer for ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ suggests a spectacularly short tenure for the character. The unsettling imagery – a face-off against Shao Kahn within a chilling recreation of the Dead Pool – points to a swift and brutal end.

A slow, acid-fueled demise?

Fan speculation, fueled by the trailer’s brief but potent glimpse, is already circling. The Dead Pool, a stage infamous for its gruesome traps – captives bound, raised, and then plunged into a corrosive acid – isn’t a detail easily overlooked. A wave of comments on social media predict a protracted, agonizing demise for Young, a fate delivered via the infamous pit. One user succinctly put it: ‘As if his near complete absence from the trailers didn’t already give that away.’

Beyond the obvious

But the sentiment extends beyond mere prediction. Several fans argue that the filmmakers are deliberately telegraphing Young’s death as a calculated attempt to drum up interest in the sequel. ‘What they should’ve done is actually had him in these and then kill him off as a surprise twist,’ one commentator lamented, ‘Instead is so obvious that he’s gonna die that when it happens there’ll be zero tension.’ The perceived lack of screen time, coupled with the stage’s significance, fuels this theory.

A familiar trope

The reaction isn't entirely novel. The comparison to ‘Taskmaster’ in ‘Thunderbolts’ – a character introduced with a clear, tragic purpose – highlights the audience’s expectation. ‘Cole is by far the most hated thing about the first movie though,’ another user observed. ‘They want to make it obvious he dies to get people to give this movie a chance.’ The strategy, it seems, is to embrace the perceived flaw and leverage it for engagement.

Hope for a surprise return?

Despite the overwhelming odds, the possibility of a miraculous resurrection lingers. Mortal Kombat’s established penchant for defying mortality – characters rising from the dead, only to meet their end again – offers a sliver of hope. Could Cole, after a brief, agonizing plummet into the acid, reappear as a resurrected demigod? Even the prospect of a Scorpion-esque return for Tan’s character isn’t entirely dismissed, though Hiroyuki Sanada’s age and potential commitments cast a shadow of doubt.

Cameos and new faces

The trailer also introduces elements beyond Young’s fate. Ed Boon, a co-creator of the franchise, makes a brief cameo, while Quan Chi debuts. The shift in dynamics promises a layered narrative, potentially mitigating the predictable trajectory of Young’s story. As Tan himself hinted, ‘there’s a plan for Cole,’ suggesting a more nuanced, and perhaps surprising, arc lies ahead. 'There’s more to come. Where I get to do a fight scene is one of my favorite stages of all of Mortal Kombat.'

Ultimately, ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ appears poised to deliver a brutal, and potentially divisive, conclusion to Cole Young’s story. The acid pool awaits.”n